


Morale Booster

by voxmyriad



Series: Commander Cody Week 2k21 [3]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Cody-style Droid Violence, Droid Kicking, Gen, Inappropriate Use of a Blaster Rifle, doesn't mean it isn't there, just because he'd never admit it, look you can't tell me Cody doesn't have a soft side
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 11:55:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30071871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voxmyriad/pseuds/voxmyriad
Summary: This war isn't only about fighting back the Separatists. It's also about rescuing the innocent, whatever form that takes.
Series: Commander Cody Week 2k21 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2208858
Comments: 4
Kudos: 49





	Morale Booster

Would he do it differently if he had it to do over again? No. No, he wouldn't.

The battle had been over, all civilians rescued, and then Cody had seen movement in one of the houses. Without a moment's hesitation, he'd leaped over the wall they'd used for cover and sprinted, zig-zagging between the onslaught of bolts, ignoring the shouts from behind him:

"Commander, wait!" "Do we go after him?" "It's too dangerous. Commander knows what he's doing." "Give him cover fire! Keep 'em down!"

It was what Cody would have ordered. He spared a moment to feel pleased, and then there was nothing but the battle. He shot three droids, ducked and kicked another's legs out from under it and shot it on the way down. He vaulted over the chassis and spun to kick another droid's head clean off. Two droids got jabbed with the butt of his rifle and one of them barely had time to say "Hey—" in its whiny, offended voice before they were down, sparking and twitching as he moved on.

Pain was nothing, fear was nothing. There was only the fight.

Finally Cody dove through the doorway and leaned against the wall, rifle in hand, chest heaving and blood singing. Movement, he'd seen movement—there, in the corner, behind an overturned pot. A little shadow, too small to be a droid.

"It's all right," he said, venturing forward, patient and gentle now as the battle continued outside. His men were laying down the cover fire he'd need to get back, but he had all the time he needed for this. He didn't want to scare her any more than she'd been scared already.

When he reemerged at a dead run, he heard the shocked cries—"His bucket's off, what's he doing?" "He's gonna get killed out there!" "All right, go, go, go, escort perimeter!"—and dove for the center of the square that burst out from behind the barricade.

His bucket cradled against his chest, he ran, surrounded by men who would die for him, but he didn't need to endure that today. The impromptu escort returned safely to their shelter, and Cody immediately called for them all to fall back and fortify their defenses. In the organized chaos, no one had the chance to ask why Cody wasn't wearing his helmet. This would be a longer battle than they'd hoped, but they'd save as many lives as they could.

Including the little life currently curled up inside his helmet. No, there hadn't been any Twi'lek child left in the bombed-out house, but he'd still found someone there. His helmet was propped in his lap as he went over the reports from the day, and as the posted guards began their rounds and his men began to unwind, a pair of big pointed ears rose up from the rim.

Cody might not have expected to find her, but once he'd figured out what it was he'd seen, he wasn't going to leave the Tooka kitten _behind_. He wasn't a monster. This war was about driving back the Separatist forces and delivering a victory for the Republic, but it was also about saving innocents, and they didn't come much more innocent than that. 

Once Waxer spotted the ears inside Cody's helmet, it didn't take long for his men to coax her out to play. She was a sweet little thing, very friendly, and Cody would wager there wasn't a bigger morale booster in the camp that night. Maybe nowhere on all of Ryloth. He could mentally pat himself on the back for that, after the toll the battle had taken on the men. He might even look the other way if she ended up smuggled aboard the _Negotiator._

He just hoped she wouldn't end up named _Cody_. He wasn't sure he'd live that down once the other commanders got hold of it. Not to mention Rex.

* * *

[Image description: A small brown Tooka sitting in Cody's helmet. Its paws are on the side of the helmet and its mouth is open as if meowing. End ID.]

  
Now welcome CODY'S TOOKA by [AnStarWar](https://anstarwar.tumblr.com) on Tumblr! LOOK AT HER. LOOK HOW PERFECT SHE IS. There's no way they're leaving her behind. She's going on the _Negotiator_ and Obi-Wan is going to keep finding her sleeping in his discarded robes. ~~She's still nameless but I've got to think of something now, she's too precious.~~ Now also named by AnStarWar, behold Ba'yair! It means "chew" in Mando'a, and she _will_ , and everyone will let her get away with it.😻

**Author's Note:**

> If I had a nickel for the number of times I wrote a fic about someone rescuing a kitten, I'd have two nickels.


End file.
